Ready to perform a website audit to check performance and look for errors? Here’s your step-by-step guide detailing what to do.
Operating a high-quality website is an essential element of any successful marketing campaign. And from time to time, websites need to be updated to meet modern standards or to fix minor errors that occur once the webmaster makes changes.
A website audit can help you complete frequent website reviews to see what needs attention and what is performing well. It only takes a few steps to complete a website audit.
You should complete a website audit at least once a year. If you can do it every six months, that’s even better. Here’s what you should be reviewing.
You should be pulling monthly website stats to see how your website is doing. But during a website audit, you’ll want to explore metrics a bitter deeper and look for any trends or stark changes to trends that might tell you there is a problem with a page or a feature of that page. Here’s what to look for during a Google Analytics review:
Ensure that Google is only indexing one version of your website. Some websites end up with varying versions of the same URL being indexed. For example, Google is indexing the http site and https. If you’ve set up your website correctly, it won’t matter whether you enter your website address using the “S” or not, the same web address will show up in your address bar once you click go.
The easiest way to do this process is to use an SEO tool like SEMRush. You want to see if you have duplicate content, low-quality content, thin content or other low-performing pages. Having these pages will pull down the quality of your website overall, which will make it more challenging to rank any pages. You also want to be sure to fix broken links during this process. SEO tools are good at spotting these errors as well.
You might have added a plugin or feature to your website that you didn’t realize is now impacting your website speed. Taking time to assess website speed during regular site audits is important because it will tell you what adjustments you need to make before slow speeds impact your user experience and search engine rankings. An easy way to check your website speed is to use Google PageSpeed Insights.
Try to visit your website with a fresh perspective. As you scroll and review the content, consider whether the structure and navigation make sense and make it easy for users to find what they are looking for.
Most websites are designed mobile-first but every once in a while you still come across a plugin or template that doesn’t render well on mobile. It’s always a good idea to still review how mobile-friendly your website is.
Put your website through Google’s Mobile-friendly Test.
Does your website content answer key questions that your users have? Does it address their pain points and reasons for perhaps not purchasing your products or services? What gaps does your content have that you could fill with some upgrades or new blog posts?
Do your blog posts suggest related content or further reading once a reader reaches the end? Put together topic ideas and share them with your marketing team to make your website work even harder for you.
Spying on your competitors from time to time can help you see how competitive you are. Look for opportunities for improvement or just get a feel for what they are doing so you know how you fit into the marketplace.
You don’t want to do everything just like your competitors and not doing something can be as strategic as doing something. See what customer service tools they have on their website, read a few blog posts and see how easy it is to navigate their websites. This should provide you with a good foundation for your annual website review to see if you’re behind on website trends and need to make adjustments.
Knowing what to look for during a website audit can be challenging. Call in the experts at New Light Digital. We’ll help you review your website presence and online assets to prepare for effective marketing that delivers better results. Schedule your free consultation now.
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